Thursday 14 April 2011

Question time


Question Time comes from ..?
Will any of the panel match the Cicero like response from Caroline Flint. "Austerity Sucks!"

David Dimbleby is joined in Liverpool by
Chris Huhne,{Crapper Huhne!The original energy giant.} ND will be phoning in.
Peter Hain,{ dodgy accounting, Immigration expert. A QT favourite who is usually quite unconvincing}
Michael Howard {The other side of the coin for today's big story. "I didn't go into politics to be liked. Which is just as well, because you're not." Still love that quote.}
Alex Salmond {First Minister of Scotland, soon to be ex-First minister of Scotland. What's he doing here? Giving us a clue I hope?}
and
Cristina Odone
. {Author, journo, religious broadcaster who has traveled all the way from editing the New Statesman to voting Tory.}

In a slight change Mr Drew, still fighting for the title, has emailed his questions in from across the globe.

So here they are.
1) Royal Wedding must feature somewhere, somehow
2) must Oxbridge admit the personal nominees of Cameron & Clegg ?
3) immigration, who's right, Cameron or Cable ?
4) shall we all boo the Tories on the NHS, 'pause for reflection' and all ? altogether now ...
5) are the Scouse LibDems right to be demanding Clegg leaves the coalition ?

Can't rule out the EHCR ruling either ...

ND

Winner gets to decide if Gordon Brown really can become the new head of the IMF.

Current leader board 15/4

New Champ is

Miss S-J - 39

Malcolm Tucker -38
Botogol - 38
Timbo614 - 37.5
Bill Quango - 37.5

Nick Drew - 35.5
Appointmentotheboard - 33
Miss CD - 32
Hatfield Girl - 27
CityUnslicker - 26.5
Measured - 23
Hovis 21.5
Dick the Prick - 21.5
Steven_L - 20
GSD - 18.5
Andrew - 16.5
Anon -12
Mark Wadsworth -12
Woman on a raft - 7
Budgie - 5
BE - 3.5
Philipa -3.5
Lilith -3
Alan -2


28 comments:

Miss CD said...

- Rift on immigration
- NHS nurses want no change
- Suffragettes. Violent protest works.
- Nick Clegg's popularity. Lib Dems facing electoral Fukushima.
- Something about AV. Does no mean the end of the coalition?

Malcolm Tucker said...

1. Vince Cable's latest outburst. Liberals are in favour of an amnesty for all illegals. Should Cable resign?

2. Nurses don't want lowly doctors telling them what to do. Government must now scrap any reforms to the NHS.

3. News of the World. Is this now very serious? For Murdoch and the Met.

4. Should Oxford do something about its own immigration policy.

5. Duffy vs Clegg. Should old women be appointed to cabinet. A bit like Steve Wright in the afternoon does.

Botogol said...

- Have we got too much immigration, or is DC playing to the gallery?
- Should Vince Cable be sacked
- Should Andrew Lansley be sacked
- would admitting a black Etonian to Oxford make the colleges' statistics better or worse?
- is the Yes campaign even more incompetent than the No?

appointmetotheboard said...

1. My priority can be summed up in three words: Immigration, immigration, immigration.

2. My priority can be summed up in three letters: N H S.

3. Local government cuts. Should Liverpool just move to Surrey?

4. Vickers; tough on banks, tough on the causes of banks, or was the fact that bank shares increased 3% an indication that he was nobbled? Bonus point (from me) if any of the panel mention GS getting another roasting today from a US senate committee.

5. I suppose there has to be an AV question, as the BBC seems determined to get us interested in it, whether we want to or not.

I so nearly went for nuclear power, universities, or Russian comrades putting men in space...

Bill Quango MP said...

1. Has to be immigration - for Peter.
2. Nurses strike action. the frightened Lamb - for Michael
3. Nuclear power decisions. Too dangerous lets have windmills. - For Alex and Chris.
4 - Bankers let off again. no break ups. - for Peter again
5- AV , no one cares. not even Chritina who has to answer, even though its really Alex that will do the talking.

ND - Scottish Conservatives manifesto. ENERGY: Ensure that renewables meet 60% of Scotland's electricity needs by 2015, rising to an annual average of 100% to comfortably exceed our electricity needs by 2020.

Timbo614 said...

Hmm, Pressure mounts and I think we are all going to agree somewhat!

1) Was Vince to right to mouth of against Murdoch and his phone hacking empire? he got a slap for it! And should he get a bigger one for doing the same with the PM on immigration?

2) Playing Doctors & Nurses in politics, should we now ask the nurses to run the NHS? Then they can tell the doctors what to do? Bring back Matrons & SuperMatrons!TM

3) With Fukushima Raised to Level 7 should the government reconsider their build, build, build attitude to nuclear power.

4) Yes / No AV campaigns - Do the media think we will be swayed by these obnoxious and insulting videos?

5) Should Britain follow France and make covering your face in public illegal? (It only needs a small extension to existing laws...)

Throwaway: Should the Grand National be changed on safety for horses grounds to less & smaller fences?

appointmetotheboard said...

Bill - SNP will see the Scots' Conservatives (is it still just beleagured yet belligerent Annabel or has she got friends now?) 60% and raise to 100% renewable power by 2020...

Mark Wadsworth said...

1. Royal Wedding. Maybe something about street parties, whether there are better things to spend public money on or whether foreign leader X, Y or Z should or shouldn't have been invited.

2. Immigration spat. Yawn.

3. NHS 'cuts'.

4. AV - why should BNP voters get more votes? (Answer: they don't. By and large ballot papers with a BNP - 1 vote will count less than others. On closer inspection, the Tories are scared of UKIP, not the BNP.

5. Headscarves like in France.

measured said...

1. Are we more excited about AV or the Royal Wedding?

2. What will you do when there are no immigrants to look after your grandmother? I hope someone tells those here, not just those arriving, to integrate and interact (headscarves opportunity) if they deserve opportunities to go to Oxford etc...

(Psst...How can you tell a real marriage from a sham one?)

3. How can we get the young generation jobs? New MG/ enterprise zones...

4. The nurses do not like the nasty medicine in the NHS. Will it cure the patient?

5. Where is there an American when you need them? Libya

Timbo614 said...

@BQ & amttb

Hmm.. "average 100% of needs" pedantic point alert!

If you can supply 100% of the power needs only 99.99% of the time you just can't ever get it back to an average 100% :( Scotland will never use 100.01% of the needed power. You can sell the excess or waste it on good days but demand (in Scotland) will only ever be 100% of that needed.

So having sold the 100%+ excess power, if on any one day you slip up (high tide, no wind, it stopped raining), you cannot get it back to an "Average 100%" for SCOTLAND'S POWER NEEDS ever.

The excesses give you money to buy that power shortage back but not actual power itself!

/pedantic point alert!

GSD said...

Hi all.

1) Nurse's no confidence vote: does it matter?

2) DC on Immigration: realistic and/or workable? Supplementary: since he's so unhappy (with everything it seems), should VC just become an independent MP?

3) Energy policy: should we be looking at yet more ways (geothermal etc) for the future or just get "clean coal" working?

4) Libya: Time for NATO to hand over to AU or Arab League countries?

Miss S-J said...

1. Nurses have seen off Lansley's reforms. Why can't the coalition explain its plans properly?
Talk of U-turns.

2. Why did Cameron flag up immigration when its at a 9 year low? Was it just for some UKIP votes? And why did Cable object? To get some Libs out to vote? Whole thing looks like a fix.

3. Nuclear power, Japan and renewables.

4.Defence cuts and Libya. Why didn't anyone think to train pilots in ground attack?

5. What did Moosa Koosa say? And why did we let him leave.

6. Should we all support AV because Time Team thinks its a good idea?

hatfield girl said...

What will William do to make the RAF uniform in which he is to be married a match for Kate's dress, and will they exit the Abbey to the Dambusters' March?

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

Are redundancy notices for local government employees still being delivered by taxi in Liverpool?


What is to be grieved over the leaving of Liverpool?

Nick Drew said...

bugger ! if I'd known Huhne was on ...

Nick Drew said...

BTW Dick the P left the following votes on another thread

Nurses, NHS - is Lansley a penis?

Libya still

Immigration - why the devil not but perhapps the BBC won't allow such heresy

Unemployment down - whoo hoo, hee hee, not even been drinking!

Wild card - BP & pollution - isn't oil just sooo ghastly?

Steven_L said...

1) NHS / nurses

2) Immigration / Condem rift

3) Nuclear power / energy

4) Royal wedding

Steve said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bill Quango MP said...

Mr Drew. I have already made provision for your lack of advance knowledge of Huhne. If an energy Q comes up. Can treat it as a No-ball point.

And we're off.

Q1. Immigration -Cable/Cameron. To Peter Hain. See where I'm thinking for next season's game. Hain is mildly outraged. Howard thinks Cable was 'unwise.'
Huhne thinks the speech was measured and defends him well. Salmond rather thinks much as many commentators here. It was a media fix for votes and to show coalition differences. I agree with him.Cristina agrees too.
And brings up welfare dependency. {In Liverpool? Surely not and audience member talks nonsense about cheapness to prove it... .}

Q2. NHS nurses in 'pool vote down Lansley. - for Christina.
She thinks nurses need a big reform. {That's not going to go down well.} Howard, NHS must change. Presents quite well. But you know my view Michael. Leave it alone. Its too difficult to tackle welfare,education, defence, the economy, foreign adventures and health all in one go.
Audience man also thinks NHS needs reform. But Hain disagrees to great applause. Must be a lot of health professionals in the audience. Huhne correctly pins Hain down on Labur's reforms, that are so very similar to the Tories. He's been pretty good so far.
Salmond isn't interested in any NHS reform. Why should he?
He gets a good hit on Hain, who, despite a million appearances on QT, still appears a hypocritical slimey politico.

Q3. Release of Moosa.- For Howard. Good spot Miss S-J. Salmond on the panel for no obvious reason. Possibly a double pointer for being the only one to get it.
Salmond attacks Howard for Libyan oil deal..erm..I think you mean Peter.
Huhne backs up Howard. Audience man gets applause for saying we have destabilised Libya?
Hain really is very orange tonight. Salmond looks vanilla by comparison. Hain defends the freeing of Megrahi for Gadaffi's nuclear program. Heard it Peter. I have as much nuclear material as he had. None.
Christina wants us out of Libya. Maybe.

Q4. AV. Yes campaign gains from it being adopted. - For Salmond.
He is in favour. Dimby takes great pleasure in saying "AV is a miserable little compromise". Says it three times.
Usual rubbish about cost. As if the referendum being scrapped could save the libraries.

Next one is may 5th. So there's still plenty more to run.

Bill Quango MP said...

4 question rule is in effect.

ND - Just 2. Nothing about energy.

Miss CD - 3

Malcolm Tucker - 2. ohhh

Botogol - 3+.5 for the 'playing to the gallery' = 3.5

Appointmentotheboard. - 3. {and what is this about energy in Scotland? Hydro power will power the entire country? Guess it could.. but all that oil sitting offshore. Seems a shame to just waste it..}

BQ - 3

Mark Wadsworth. -3 {head scarves would have been a good thing to have bought up}

Measured - 3 + .5 because libya got another run out. - 3.5

Timbo614 - 3 {and despite covering a lot of bases in your descriptive questions, none of them came up!} -3
And that 100% is straight out their manifesto.

GSD - 2 + 1/2 for Libya and 1/2 for only four questions - 3

Miss S-J too many Qs, however, loads and loads of bang on answers. I make it 6. minus 1 for six attempts and that's still = 5.
Impressive.

HG - sadly, few of those. Are you thinking what i'm thinking didn't get a look in. -1.5

Dick the Prick - 2.5. I'm thinking of putting up a reminder post Wednesday nights. Where questions can be left for those who are brave enough to go out on Thursday nights.

Steven_L -2+.5 for 4Qs = 2.5

Winner = Miss S-J with a tremendous 5 points.

Bill Quango MP said...

4 question rule is in effect.

ND - Just 2. Nothing about energy.

Miss CD - 3

Malcolm Tucker - 2. ohhh

Botogol - 3+.5 for the 'playing to the gallery' = 3.5

Appointmentotheboard. - 3. {and what is this about energy in Scotland? Hydro power will power the entire country? Guess it could.. but all that oil sitting offshore. Seems a shame to just waste it..}

BQ - 3

Mark Wadsworth. -3 {head scarves would have been a good thing to have bought up}

Measured - 3 + .5 because libya got another run out. - 3.5

Timbo614 - 3 {and despite covering a lot of bases in your descriptive questions, none of them came up!} -3
And that 100% is straight out their manifesto.

GSD - 2 + 1/2 for Libya and 1/2 for only four questions - 3

Miss S-J too many Qs, however, loads and loads of bang on answers. I make it 6. minus 1 for six attempts and that's still = 5.
Impressive.

HG - sadly, few of those. Are you thinking what i'm thinking didn't get a look in. -1.5

Dick the Prick - 2.5. I'm thinking of putting up a reminder post Wednesday nights. Where questions can be left for those who are brave enough to go out on Thursday nights.

Steven_L -2+.5 for 4Qs = 2.5

Winner = Miss S-J with a tremendous 5 points.

Mark Wadsworth said...

Yay!

Timbo614 said...

BQ: {and despite covering a lot of bases in your descriptive questions, none of them came up!}

Well it hasn't been a bad tactic. Maybe linking Mr Cable to two topical subjects was just a little too obvious :)

Botogol said...

just 1.5 points separating the top 5!

I just can't understand why Mike Smithson, over at politicalbetting.com, isn't covering the exciting run-in to the end of the season.

Bill Quango MP said...

Botogol.
Mike is too busy trying to prop up AV as the vote seems to be slipping into no.

I was about to vote yes, having decided that it won't make much difference, but the Lib Dem leaflet just came.

"We urge you to vote YES to AV. Its endorsed by celebrities such as Colin Firth,Joanne Lumley and Martin Bell {the man in whit}."

Then got into a discussion over which celeb you would trust.

Could be fun for the weekend. As it stands, Mollie Sugden is top.Considered reliable to endorse a brand of cat food.
{Shudder to think of the name.}

Miss S-J said...

Yes! Fame and fortune beckons.

Winner gets to decide if Gordon Brown really can become the new head of the IMF.

On the plus side it gets him out of the house.
On the negative, it destroys the world's finances.

I think a NO.

Botogol said...

I wish he would just hurry up and tell us how to vote on AV...

andrew said...

I cannot see Gordon Brown taking over the IMF.

I can see him taking over a topless shooting gallery.

Shortly therafter there would be an end to boom and bust.

Nick Drew said...

well I thought it was funny andrew